Ways San Francisco nickels and dimes its residents

By Amy Graff

on October 29, 2018 4:00 AM

Depending on demand meter prices vary from 50 cents to a maximum of $7 an hour. Thankfully meters can be paid with credit cards, because that's a lot of quarters.

Parking meter rates: Up to $7 an hour

Depending on demand meter prices vary from 50 cents to a maximum of $7 an hour. Thankfully meters can be paid with credit cards, because that's a lot of quarters.

Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle

Parking meter rates: Up to $7 an hour
Depending on demand...photo-14279901.186277 - |ucfirst

Parking tickets: Up to $875 for parking in a blue zone without a placard

The city has a dizzying long list of fees for parking violations, and if you violate any of them you can expect to pay. Some examples include $66 for not curbing your wheels on a hill, $73 for street cleaning, $110 for parking in a red zone, and $110 if you're caught removing the chalk marked on your wheels by a city parking control officer.

Parking tickets: Up to $875 for parking in a blue zone without a...photo-16279689.186277 - |ucfirst

'S.F. Mandates' surcharge on restaurant bills: Now, as high as 6 percent

Many restaurants tack an extra surcharge, now as high as 6 percent, onto bills to cover its employees' health care costs. "In January 2008, the voter-approved San Francisco Health Care Ordinance went into effect, requiring any business with more than 20 employees to set aside money for their workers’ health care," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. "The 2018 set-aside rate is $1.89 per employee per hour worked for businesses with 20 to 99 employees, and $2.83 per employee per hour worked for businesses with more than 100 employees, and it goes up a small amount every year. All businesses that operate in San Francisco are subject to the ordinance, but starting in 2008, many restaurants decided that they’d rather overtly pass those new costs on to customers in the form of a surcharge rather than folding them into their menu prices."

Garbage:If your bin is more than 25 feet from the curb, you're hit with $11.52 per month

San Francisco's rates are on par or even less than other Bay Area cities but they can add up if you get hit with any of the extra fees. If your bin is more than 25 feet from the curb, you're hit with $11.52 per month for each 25 foot increment thereafter.

Yes, there are all kinds of free days, special packages and savings with annual memberships, but the straight-up adult ticket to get into a museum can be pricey. It's $35.95 at the California Academy of Sciences. The Museum of Natural History in NYC by comparison is $23.

San Francisco gas prices are usually the highest prices in Northern California and among the highest in the country. On Oct. 26, 2018, the national average was $2.84 a gallon, while the average in San Francisco was $3.98.

Gas: One dollar more per gallon than national average San...photo-16046846.186277 - |ucfirst

Tow fees: Around $557 on average to get your car backIt's every driver's nightmare: You return to an empty parking space and learn your car was towed. "Towing costs average around $557 in San Francisco, the highest in the nation and two to three times higher than other major cities like New York, Chicago and Los Angeles," The Chronicle reports. "The cost has doubled in San Francisco over the past decade." Fees are reduced for first-time tows and low-income individuals. less

Tow fees: Around $557 on average to get your car back
It's every driver's nightmare: You return to an empty parking space and learn your car was towed. "Towing costs average around $557 in San Francisco, the ... more

Photo: Kale Williams /

Tow fees: Around $557 on average to get your car back It's...photo-16316757.186277 - |ucfirst

Cheap eats: Even a basic burrito is $8

If you want anything fancy in your burrito, say steak or guacamole, you're looking at $10.

Cheap eats: Even a basic burrito is $8

If you want anything fancy in your burrito, say steak or guacamole, you're looking at $10.

Photo: John Storey, Special To The Chronicle

Cheap eats: Even a basic burrito is $8 If you want anything fancy...photo-12559067.186277 - |ucfirst

Alcohol: $20 cocktails

The average price of one cocktail in a downtown club in SF is $14 according to Expatistan.com, but at fancier spots $18 to $20 is becoming more common.

Alcohol: $20 cocktails

The average price of one cocktail in a downtown club in SF is $14 according to Expatistan.com, but at fancier spots $18 to $20 is becoming more common.

Photo: Bacardi

Alcohol: $20 cocktails
The average price of one cocktail in a...photo-12113062.186277 - |ucfirst